Transmission End Play Dial Indicator with Magnetic Stand

This is the Mitutoyo 64PKA079 combination: a 1 in. travel dial indicator graduated in 0.001 in., mounted on a switchable magnetic stand. It is the setup you reach for when a rebuild calls out an end play spec and a feeler gauge will not get you there - input shaft end play on a 4L60E or 4L80E, output shaft end play on a 700R4, turbine shaft end play on a 6L80, and clutch pack travel checked at the drum.

The stand has 132 lbf of magnetic hold with an on/off switch in the base. That matters more than it sounds. A weak base walking off the bell housing while you are reading a 0.005 in. window is how indicators get bent, and the switch lets you set the base down, position the arm, then lock it instead of fighting the magnet the whole time. The stand accepts any AGD-type dial indicator, test indicator or probe with a 0.375 in., 6 mm or 8 mm stem, or a lug back with a 1/4 in. mounting hole, so it keeps working with the rest of your indicators.

On the bench the procedure is the same regardless of unit: set the base on a flat machined surface of the case or on the bellhousing face, bring the contact point square onto the end of the shaft, zero the dial, then lift the shaft by hand and read total travel. Compare that against the service figure, and shim or change the selective washer until it lands in range. The indicator crystal is hard coated, which is worth something on a transmission bench where the tool gets slid across steel more than it gets set down gently.